Michael had just gotten off of comms with the fleet command ordering the Neptune on her first mission. He wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen, but he knew this would be a humanitarian mission. He looked out the window seeing the dock around the Neptune. ‘Finally, time to get back to work.’ he thought. His crew hadn’t been on a mission since the demise of the Tesla at the hand of the hirogens. She would be in repairs for a long time and Michael wished her next Captain all the best.

“Ryder to Richards can you come in here for a second, Commander?” he inquired.

Tallie had been working at her desk going through the paperwork that she had been given in response to the new ship. Her time on other ships had been boring and though she was a yeoman, as a Lieutenant Commander she had seen a lot and been called upon for other jobs. She had a history in the intelligence field, which was why Ryder had chosen her from what she had been told. She was just finishing up her work when she heard the call for her to the Captain’s office. She quickly answered the call and entered the Captain’s officer straightening her uniform.

“You called for me, Sir” She said with a smile.

Michael nodded “Yes, can you please find all pertinent information regarding Uneta Prime and have it prepared for a briefing at 09:00?”

She nodded “I will make sure it is done, Captain.” She stood straight before turning on her heels and leaving his office.

Meanwhile, in the XO’s quarters, Tia plopped a bursting-at-the-seams duffle bag down on the floor of her new room. This was her first introduction to her quarters since she had initially taken it upon herself to thoroughly inspect their new ship from top to bottom, before allowing herself to settle into her new digs. She surveyed the area with an approving nod, but then felt a small twinge as she recalled their old Tesla. She was going to miss the old girl and felt she owed the ship some sort of thanks for the role it played in breaking in a green XO with some exciting excursions. But as she recalled the grandeur of their new ship, she knew it had been the right time to move on and say goodbye to the Tesla. She couldn’t wait for what new adventures lay ahead in the Neptune. Taking the time to carefully arrange her belongings in their respective drawers, she then stretched out on the bed for a moment to sink into the soft mattress. This place would certainly do.

She didn’t allow herself to lounge for long, however, anxious to explore the remaining parts of the ship which she had deemed as not primary concerns, and therefore pushed back till she was taking her personal time. Her first stop was going to be the ever-popular Scarlet Fire. 

Amanda had been settling into the new ship trying to get used to the difference in size compared to the Tesla, Though this ship was impressive regarding pure Starfleet ingenuity. She could not wait to try out the weapons systems on such a ship. She was anxious to get orders but had been lazily lounging in her quarters. It had been nice to relax, but she felt it was going to be time to start another mission very soon. As she closed her eyes she could hear the gentle hum of the ship’s warp core and took a deep breath this was what she thought of as peace. She was about to nod off when she heard the chirp of her PADD. She grudgingly got up and looked at the message from the Captain’s Yeoman ordering her to a briefing in 20 minutes. 

Her eyes got wide ‘Why does he seem to always do this?’ she thought as she quickly got into the sonic shower and cleaned off before getting dressed and heading for the Neptune’s conference room. She arrived to find Kra’vaak already present.

“Commander, hope you had a pleasant visit back home?” she asked knowing the Klingon had gone home for a short vacation. 

Kra’vaak nodded and smiled at Amanda “It was adequate for my needs, but it is good to be back though it seems like there was a change since I was here last.” he laughed deeply.

Amanda shook her head it was always Kra’vaak who tried to come back with the jokes “Nice try Commander I know you were well aware.” She said with a smirk “Wonder where everyone else is?”

Xiao had been walking the halls when he got the notification for the meeting. He was looking at the PADD and ran directly into Ruvok who was doing the same. He quickly scurried to his feet. “I apologize, Lieutenant, it seems I was not paying attention to where I was going.” he said a bit embarrassed.

Ruvok’s mind had been wondering after his recent time with Sumiko. He wished he could try and convince her to join the Neptune, but he figured that would never work. He had been walking the halls when he looked at his PADD for the orders from the Captain’s Yeoman before running into Commander Peng. He shook his head “It is ok Commander, though it seems we’re both summoned shall we just go together?” 

Peng nodded and the two quickly made their way to the briefing room with only two others in the room they took their seats and began to have a menial conversation.

At the Scarlet Fire Brew House, John was surprised to find Tia and Riru seated at his and Akeno’s usual table, and with a grin, he realized that perhaps eating meals with the two women would become a regular occasion. As he slid into his customary seat with Akeno close behind, he greeted the women with a nod.

“You eating with us lowlifes again?” He teased them. 

“Got a problem with that?” Riru shot back. 

“I never have a problem with beautiful women keeping me company.” John couldn’t resist turning the little engineer’s cheeks red, but it was more of a fiery red than a blushing one. 

“Well I suppose I can tolerate your company as long as there are other more interesting parties to pose a distraction,” she responded with a not too subtle glance towards Tia. 

John was happy to see a smile invade the usually tight lips of their XO, and without even looking, he could picture the I-told-you-so grin that must be covering Akeno’s face. With a light chuckle he turned back to his meal, but his roving eyes happened to catch a flash of blonde dreadlocks. 

Akeno noticed John’s gaze and saw the Bajoran doctor passing by to her usual seat at a table with multiple other medical professionals. Akeno had noted that although Jovi regularly ate with the other doctors, she rarely conversed with them and instead seemed to finish her meal in silence before departing from the group. The unorthodox medic didn’t seem to fit in well with the other doctors. 

“Hey, Doc! Care to eat with us.”

John looked up as Akeno called out the question, and quickly removed his large boots from an extra chair at the table on which he had been resting his feet. 

The doctor looked over with a wrinkled brow, uncertain what had prompted this invitation, but then with a shrug, she changed her direction and moved to join them. 

“You look like shit,” the doctor threw this observation towards John as she set down her tray. 

He drew back as he pretended to be offended. “Part of my charm,” he defended himself.

“Yea, well next time the doctor tells you to drop by the medical bay for a checkup, maybe you should listen,” she stated with raised brows.

“I don’t have time for that,” he brushed off.

“Like you’ve had anything but free time since we got back from Ryex,” Riru cut in.

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted as Riru and Tia’s wrist PADDs sent out a notification. 

“We have a meeting,” Tia announced, quickly rising to her feet.

“Oh a meeting, is that what you call it now?” Akeno joked, tongue in cheek. “How much does she charge?” 

For a split second Akeno regretted this jab as the XO’s dark gaze fell on him, but without a break in her stolid features she simply answered, “Luckily your mom gives us a discount.”

Tia and Riru left the table amid the appreciative howling laughter of Akeno and John. 

Franklin Dorner entered the meeting room shortly after the XO and the Chief Engineer. Riru’s nose wrinkled as he sat next to her, the unruly engineer not attempting to hide her displeasure at his close proximity. Dorner leaned over to speak softly to her about something concerning the engineering department, and before he was able to fully complete his statement of advice she had cut him short.

“Well you do things your way and I’ll do them the right way.” 

Tia threw their Chief Engineer a disapproving glance but Lieutenant Commander Sareth didn’t notice. Tia wasn’t certain what had caused the obvious animosity between the engineer and the flight officer, but she determined to address it in private at a later time. For the moment, Riru’s response served to shut Dorner’s mouth, and an awkward silence reigned on that side of the table till the Captain entered the conference room. 

Michael entered the room seeing his entire senior staff waiting for him “Good prompt just like I want to see.” he replied as Tallie slid in front of him to her seat. The crew’s eyes snapped to Michael as he began to brief them. “We have been commanded by the fleet command to help with the evacuation of Uneta Prime. Due to the severe storms in the Paulson Nebula, the colony is at risk and we have been tasked to save them. Other than that we have no information on what to expect.”

Amanda shook her head “It seems we have another exciting quest with little to no information regarding the area?” she said shaking her head.

Ruvok stood up “Not exactly.” he said going to the screen inputting the information regarding the planet and turning back to the crew. “If you don’t mind, Captain?”

Michael nodded for Ruvok to proceed. Ruvok looked at the officers “Unete Prime is one of the bigger planets in its system and holds a decent shipyard from all reports. The men and women that inhabit the planet have been contractors and helped many races in their shipbuilding. I am not sure what to expect, but from all indications, it seems the planet should not cause us any issues.”

Kra’vaak shook his head “Captain there has to be more?”

Michael shook his head “I have no other information and given the situation I don’t think we can determine what exactly is going on.”

“Are there any potential steps we can take to ensure we are ready for possible surprises?” Dorner asked.

“If we were ready for it then it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Sareth stated dryly. 

Michael looked over at Sareth with a slight disapproving look. He said nothing though and listened to the words of his XO.

“Then we will just make sure we’re prepared for anything, as always.” Tia’s conviction may have been a little forced to instill confidence in the team, but now that she’d had some time flying with this crew she truly believed that they were capable of handling any issue that arose. 

Michael nodded “I agree we can do anything as we have in the past. Just be prepared for anything and you will never be disappointed. We leave at 13:00 prepare your departments and be ready for departure.” He said standing up with his XO following suite. They dismissed and headed to the bridge for the departure of the Neptune for her first mission.